Play the Game

by Nova Weetman

  ‘You mean I have to stop you dreaming about playing the lead role opposite Freddy!’ said Tess with a teasing smile.

  ‘Freddy is not the reason I go to drama class!’

  ‘Sure. And wanting two pieces of cake isn’t the reason I eat broccoli!’

  I laughed, but Tess was wrong about drama class. As much as I looked forward to seeing Freddy, he wasn’t the reason I went.

  ‘I’ve been going to drama class for ages longer than Freddy has,’ I told her.

  ‘True. But you’ve got to admit he’s cute. And ohhh, that accent.’

  Freddy was cute. And he did have that accent. He was also lovely, and funny and definitely swoonworthy. I’d had a crush on him since he’d moved here from America six months ago, but so far I’d only managed to hang out with him in a group. My secret plan was to get cast as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Freddy was bound to be Romeo, so then we’d have to spend lots of time together – just the two of us. It wasn’t like I had much experience with boys. I’d kissed a boy once, at a party when I was ten! It had been sloppy and gross. I was sort of hoping that Freddy would be my first real kiss.

  But my plan wasn’t just about getting closer to Freddy. I loved drama class, and the idea of landing a lead role was massive. Tess was so obsessed with netball, she didn’t really understand how I could love something else just as much. Drama was the one thing we didn’t do together. It was my thing. It was also something I had to work really hard at. I definitely wasn’t a natural, and that was one reason I loved it so much.

  As we reached our bikes, I gave Tess a big hug. ‘Nice work today. Try not to think about selection, okay?’ I said, knowing that she would anyway. ‘We’ll find out soon enough.’

  ‘I’m not worried. We’re going to play state, Edie. I’m sure of it!’

  I gave her a big smile. I didn’t want to think about how disappointed Tess would be if we didn’t get picked. I’d be upset too, of course, but not like her. This was the only thing Tess wanted.

  ‘I’ll call you later. We can pick apart the game!’ I said, jumping on my bike.

  As I rode home I tried to push away all thoughts of playing state netball, but as soon as I did that, I started imagining myself onstage in Juliet’s costume, kissing Freddy. Argh! How was I going to cope until Monday’s class?

  I badly wanted to play Juliet. And not just to get close to Freddy. I really loved Shakespeare, and I’d never done such an ambitious play before. Up until now, I’d only had bit parts. I was so pumped about playing Juliet that some nights I lay in bed reciting her speeches over and over in my head.

  Secretly, I had my hopes up. Kerry, our drama teacher, had been really happy with my audition, and I figured that being one of the youngest in the class would help. I was exactly the same age Juliet was – almost 14. But I knew it wasn’t that simple. All the other roles had to be cast around the leads, and they all had to work together. Just like our netball team.

  I couldn’t believe I’d actually made it through the weekend and a whole day of school.

  Tess had helped get me through Sunday by keeping me busy baking. It was really nice just hanging out with her and being silly, instead of training. Her mum let us take over her kitchen for a few hours, so we baked up a storm of biscuits and cupcakes. Then her little brothers came in and practically ate the lot! It was fun. And I managed to go almost three hours without worrying about the part.

  It wasn’t as easy to keep my nerves under control at school, though. Double maths isn’t much of a distraction – though I did spend half my time wondering what the teacher was talking about.

  Once the final bell had gone, I found myself stalling. Now that it was finally time to hear if I’d been cast as Juliet, I was suddenly too nervous to find out.

  ‘Shouldn’t you hurry?’ said Tess, checking her watch.

  I nodded, feeling the butterflies going crazy in my tummy.

  ‘You’ll be fine! Just go. Otherwise you’ll be late,’ said Tess, giving me a push.

  ‘Okay, okay, I’m going!’

  Tess was right – I was late. As I hurried in through the doors, everyone was already seated. I could feel them all staring as I searched for an empty seat. I hated being late, almost as much as I hated being the centre of attention. I know that sounds weird, given how much I loved drama class, but it was different when I was playing a part. The audience wasn’t watching me on stage, they were watching the character I was playing.

  Our classes were held in this huge old school building that had been turned into a theatre, almost like a professional space. Drama class was an extra at school, but lots of kids came because we had this amazing teacher, Kerry, who used to be an actor.

  My big sister, Jean, used to be the school acting star. I’d joined the class as a way to hang out with her after she decided she was way too cool to be seen with me. But as soon as I joined, she dropped out. She’d said it was because she was super busy with exams, but I still wondered if it was because of me.

  The weird bit was, once I’d started drama class, I discovered that I loved it. I didn’t care that none of my friends did it, or that it was really hard sometimes. I just wanted to act.

  ‘Hi guys, I know you’re all keen to find out your parts –’ started Kerry.

  ‘Yeah!’ interrupted Freddy, making everyone laugh.

  ‘Well, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait until next Monday. A few things have come up. The list will go up in the corridor straight after school.’

  There was a collective groan. I couldn’t believe we weren’t going to find out today. I’d been hanging for this announcement! And now I had to wait another week.

  ‘Up on stage please, everyone,’ said Kerry.

  I walked up onto the stage to start warming up. Kerry got us all pretending to be trees. Reaching out my arms like growing branches, I snuck a look at Freddy. He was hunched down in a sort of squat. Everyone else was stretching up as high as they could, but Freddy looked more like a tree stump than a tree. He always did something different to everyone else. Kerry said he was a natural. His parents were both actors, so I guess it was in his genes.

  Freddy leapt up and saw me watching him. He gave me one of his amazing grins. Embarrassed, I looked away quickly.

  We always started drama class with these crazy warm-ups. The first class I came to, I’d been mortified, until I realised that everyone was really into it, and that it was actually great fun – if I stopped worrying about how stupid I looked. Pretty soon I found myself looking forward to it.

  Next Kerry asked us to become bears. I tried to make myself look big and imposing. Freddy was lying on the ground like a hibernating bear when I saw Belle stomp over and lie down next to him. I was pretty sure Belle liked Freddy too. Belle had also auditioned for Juliet, so I was really hoping I’d get the lead role. I hated the idea of having to watch Belle and Freddy kiss on stage!

  Belle was in Freddy’s year. She looked much more grown up than I did, and wore heaps of make-up. She was really into fashion and always looked so glamorous. My style was dictated by whatever was on my bedroom floor. Usually, that meant jeans with some sort of top. I didn’t actually own a dress. And the only skirt I ever wore was my netball skirt.

  I couldn’t hear what Belle and Freddy were saying, but I heard her giggle. The sound made me want to stomp over and start a bear fight.

  Kerry clapped her hands to signal the end of the warm-up.

  ‘We’re going to work on voice projection today. If you can all line up across the back of the stage, I’m going to sit in the very last row. I need to hear you. Say whatever you like,’ said Kerry.

  Freddy was first. Belle was next to him – I was right down the other
end of the line. I didn’t like doing these sorts of exercises. Having to come up with something on the spot always made me a bit nervous.

  ‘Feel the force, Luke,’ said Freddy, projecting his voice, and making everyone laugh. He was always quoting lines from films.

  Belle was next. She flicked her hair to one side and then stepped forward. ‘Hi, I’m Belle. Two Ls. Two Es.’ As she stepped back next to Freddy, I’m sure I saw her look at him sideways and smile. Was she flirting with him? I wondered.

  I was so busy thinking about what Belle was up to, I’d totally spaced out, and suddenly it was my turn.

  ‘Um, hi, we won our state netball tryout game,’ I said very quietly, down into the floor.

  Kerry called back. ‘Can’t hear you, Edie. Louder.’

  ‘We won our state netball tryout game,’ I said, a little louder.

  ‘Still can’t hear you. You have to own what you’re saying.’

  I knew I was blushing. But I’d have to keep saying it until she could hear it, so I took a deep breath, and this time I yelled. ‘We won our state netball tryout game!’

  Kerry clapped. ‘Perfect. They could have heard that over in the next suburb. And well done on the win.’

  A boy called Jackson was standing next to me. He elbowed me gently and whispered,‘Congratulations!’

  I just nodded. I didn’t know what to say. I sort of knew Jackson from a couple of my classes, but I’d never really spoken to him before.

  ‘Pair up with the person next to you and then find some space where you can bounce sounds back and forth,’ said Kerry, walking towards the stage.

  Jackson turned to me again. ‘Hey, partner.’

  ‘Hi,’ I said, feeling nervous about working with Jackson. He usually paired up with his friend Tom.

  ‘Come on, let’s find a spot,’ he said, walking off the stage towards the wings.

  I couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Freddy as we walked past. He caught my eye and whispered, ‘Hey Edie, when do you find out if you made state?’

  ‘Not sure,’ I whispered back.

  Freddy nodded and held up his crossed fingers. I was so busy smiling back at him that I crashed straight into Jackson.

  ‘Oops, sorry,’ I said.

  ‘That’s okay,’ he said. ‘Shall I serve first?’

  ‘What?’

  He started bouncing an imaginary ball and then threw it into the air and hit it with an imaginary racket. I looked around, wondering if I’d missed an instruction.

  ‘That one was out. Second serve,’ he said, bouncing another imaginary ball. This time I was ready, and crouched down.

  ‘Hi!’ he said loudly, pretending to serve the word to me.

  ‘Hi!’ I said, lobbing the word back.

  He swung again as he said,‘Um.’

  ‘Yep,’ I replied. He pretended to miss his shot. He chased after it, then bent down to pick it up.

  Kerry must have noticed our pretend game of tennis and wandered over.

  Jackson served ‘I’ at me.

  I hit it back. ‘Think.’

  His shot. ‘You’re.’

  I returned,‘Good.’

  He sent back,‘At.’

  I responded,‘This.’

  His turn. ‘Game!’

  Kerry and I both laughed. ‘Nice work, you two,’ she said.

  Jackson pretended to scoop up the tennis ball and hand it to me. ‘Phew, close game,’ he said, smiling. ‘You almost had me.’

  ‘What do you mean, almost? I won,’ I teased.

  Jackson brushed his hair out of his eyes, but it immediately flopped back down. I was startled to find myself wanting to reach up and push it back.

  ‘Oh, no, that last shot was out. I definitely won. But I’ll give you a rematch. Next week?’ he asked playfully.

  I didn’t answer straight away because I was distracted by his eyes. They were like pools of melted chocolate, and they sparkled as he teased me. I shook myself out of it.

  ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I’ll have my racket restrung.’

  He laughed, and his face lit up with a broad grin. Huh. He was kind of cute.

  At the end of class Kerry clapped loudly to get our attention. ‘We start rehearsing Romeo and Juliet next week. I’ll hand out your scripts then. We have a lot to get through so we’ll be rehearsing twice a week – Mondays and Wednesdays. We might step it up to three times a week closer to opening night. I hope that’s not going to be a problem for anyone,’ said Kerry, looking around the group. ‘Basically, I’m going to own you all until we open in two months,’ she said with a smile.

  Kerry gave a little theatrical bow and everyone started filing out of the theatre. Except for me. As I grabbed my bag, I managed to up-end it and everything tipped out. I scrabbled around trying to find things. Pens. Pencils. An apple. Chewing gum. Lip gloss. Basically, I carried my life in my bag, and now it was rolling down the aisle of the theatre.

  ‘You might need this, Edie.’

  I looked up to see Kerry holding out my sunscreen.

  ‘Thanks,’ I said, smiling.

  I finally managed to shove everything into my bag and stand up.

  ‘I still can’t believe you’re making us wait until next week to find out which part we got!’

  Kerry laughed. ‘It’s only a few more days – I’m just fiddling with a few of the roles. But you’ll be very happy, I promise you that. Your audition was amazing, Edie. You have a big future!’

  ‘Really?’ I said, feeling all excited and fluttery.

  ‘Absolutely. I hope you don’t feel too young to carry some of the weight of the play,’ she said with a wink.

  I must have looked like an idiot, just standing there grinning. But my head was spinning. Juliet? I wondered to myself. Was she telling me I was Juliet? I couldn’t believe it. She was telling me I was Juliet, wasn’t she?

  I wanted to yell with happiness, but I instead I just nodded like mad. ‘Absolutely not. I can’t wait.’

  ‘Great. Then I’ll see you Monday!’

  Rushing outside to my bike, I desperately wanted to call Tess and tell her, but I knew I should wait until next week. Wait, who was I kidding? There was no way I could hold this in until then. Perhaps I could just hint at the news without actually telling anyone.

  I rode home like I was on a cloud. I kept running the whole thing over and over in my head. Juliet. I was Juliet. In six weeks, I’d be acting in one of the greatest plays ever written. It was crazy!

  My big sister Jean was lying on the floor with both feet in the air when I floated through the front door. The house stank of nail polish. But I didn’t care, I just yelled at her,‘I got the part! The part!’

  ‘You what?’ she said, sounding confused. She looked like she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, which, given the amount I’d been talking about the play ever since auditions, was a bit suprising. But today, I was so happy, I was willing to overlook her total lack of interest in my life. And I secretly hoped she would be impressed.

  ‘The part. In the play! In Romeo and Juliet!’

  Jean checked that her toenails were dry before sitting up and looking at me closely. I think she actually was a bit impressed.

  ‘What part?’ she said.

  ‘The part. That’s all I can tell you. Until next week,’ I said, proud that I’d managed not to spill all the beans.

  ‘Are you playing Juliet?’

  I practiced my poker face, giving nothing away. She shrugged, giving up.

  Then she totally surprised me by saying, ‘I can do your make-up.’

  I’m not usually suspicious, but Jean wasn’t one of those sisters who had your back. Not lately. She was sixteen and thought she knew everything. She spent most of her time ignoring me, and if she did talk to m
e, it was usually just to order me out of the bathroom, or to make me turn down the music while she was on the phone.

  ‘Really?’I said slowly, expecting her to say something mean. But she didn’t. She just nodded.

  Wow. Could nothing go wrong today? Even my sister was being nice to me!

  ‘Yeah, it’ll be fun,’ she said, super sincerely.

  ‘Awesome! Thanks, Jean.’

  She even managed a bit of a smile, then she held her hands out for me to critique.

  Her nails were painted red with tiny black spots on them. Jean was always painting her nails. The smell drove us all mad.

  ‘They’re great – if you’re a ladybug,’ I said.

  She rolled her eyes at me and I immediately felt bad. After all, she’d been so nice about the play. ‘Sorry. They look cool – very retro.’

  ‘I’ll do yours too if you like,’ she said, and I started to wonder if something had happened to her brain. The last time she was this nice to me was when she’d worn my favourite necklace without telling me – and lost it.

  ‘Maybe later,’ I said.

  ‘And we can experiment with your make-up and hair. Romeo and Juliet is such a great play. I can help you with lines.’

  I nodded, slightly weirded out by her enthusiasm. ‘Okay, thanks,’ I said, heading for my room. ‘I have to call Tess.’

  Leaving Jean sprawled on the lounge room floor, I bounded upstairs. Our house was one of those narrow, two-storey, old terrace houses. Jean and I both had bedrooms upstairs, and there was a study and a bathroom up there that we were supposed to share – though really, the bathroom was 90 per cent Jean’s. Everything else was downstairs. My room was right at the back of the house, with a view of the rooftops around us. It was a tiny room, just big enough for a bed, a wardrobe and all my netball posters and trophies, but I loved it. I used to climb out the window and sit on the roof until Mum found me one day, and totally freaked out. She wasn’t a big fan of us taking risks. She worked in a hospital emergency department, so I guess she’d seen the results of too many accidents.